The Minutiae of Life as a Militant Squirrel

Actually, I spent Snowzilla 2010 curled up on the couch with my shiny new baby laptop, writing fic, as one does.

I have this J2 story that's been languishing since April 16, 2008.

Finally finished a whole mess of connecting stuff and wrote what I happen to think is a pretty hot sex scene.

Of course, the boys aren't done struggling through their crisis yet, so their "morning-after" argument could be best summed up like this:

JENSEN: YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE MINE, THAT YOU’D ALWAYS BEEN MINE.

JARED: I WAS CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT. ALSO, HELLO, ABOUT TO GET LAID, NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING I SAID.

JENSEN: FUCKER.

*snerk*

Anyway, it is now, basically, about two scenes from FINALLY FUCKING FINISHED, at which point I will give myself permission to start the SPN / Leverage crossover AU that's been tickling my fancy.

And the SGA Eighties high school McShep is now, also, only about one, possibly two, chapters away from an ending, yay! And then I can start the White Collar apocalyptic futurefic that I dreamed up the other night while under the influence of far too much Bailey's Irish Cream.

What can I say. Whiskey, apparently, not only makes me angry . . . it makes me write apocafic.

Go figure.

As long as I'm writing, I don't fucking care.

I'm so embarrassed that it takes me so long to finish anything. I'm way too easily distracted by shiny new ideas, and unfortunately for me, the way I write has always been dependent upon inspiration rather than perspiration, so if the muses fuck off for vacation in Tahiti, I'm fucked, too.

Let's hope this little spate of productivity continues for a bit, shall we?

Ha, I wrote something!

Okay, it is, embarrassingly, CW RPS. And it's short. Like, 29K of short. But it's complete!

It just needs a title.

Anybody around feel like helping me out with that?

It's PG, slashy but pairings are implied.

See, this is why I usually just steal a lyric from a song I was listening to while writing, but this time I was on radio silence. Weird.

Drop me your email addy and I'll shoot the story off to you.

ETA: Of course, when I said "29K", I meant the size of the email attachment. The actual story comes in at around 1100 words. Oops?

I can't believe I've been churning stuff out like this. A couple of previously-stalled WiPs have suddenly jumpstarted as well, yay!

Rebel Diamonds, J2 fusion, 3 / ?

( I never really gave up on breakin' out of this two-star town )

Sigh. So, this idea grabbed onto my leg and refused to let go. Like, I've been churning out chapters like a crazy thing.

Got three parts betaed, three more parts written, two more outlined. Go figure.

It's a J2 fusion with . . . Julian May's Saga of Pliocene Exile and the Galactic Milieu Trilogy. I can't manage to find the muse for any of my TEN BILLION OTHER WiPs, but give me a new idea and I'm just as prolific as a . . . great big prolific thing.

It would probably help if you've read at least some of the books before diving into this, but I tried my best to make it understandable for unfamiliar readers. Last-minute beta by the ever-helpful lucifrix, who as always, manages to keep me from becoming too purple in my prose.

Teaser: Jensen’s older brother Josh had been at the Coercer Academy for three years already, and his little sister MacKenzie was too young to understand what was wrong with Jensen and why he had to leave. 

Rebel Diamonds, J2 fusion, 1 / ?

( On the corner of main street, just tryin' to keep it in line )

Hope you all like it! I'm going to try and post the second and third parts tomorrow, before I leave for vacation.

IT'S CALLED PROOFREADING, MORONS.

Please keep in mind that running Spellcheck and Grammarcheck is not the be-all, end-all of writing. This is why everyone should have a beta-reader.

Things that drive me BONKERS when I'm reading:

We "make do" with what we have in the fridge, or the trunk of the Impala, as the case might be. You "make due" an invoice for funds.

You "toe the line" when you're following the rules, you don't "tow the line". Unless you're doing something with boats, in which case, I imagine that you might very well need to tow an occasional line.

"Just desserts" means he got what he deserved. "Just deserts" is sending him to the Sahara. I'M TOTALLY WRONG ABOUT THIS. I HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATELY CORRECTED.

A person set on a difficult course of action is "bound and determined", not "bounden determined".

It does not matter how many times you use it in a fic, "irregardless" is STILL not a word. The word is, simply, regardless.

While we're on the subject, you leave a message regarding the ongoing investigation, not "in regards to" your missing brother who may have been kidnapped. Or possessed. Whatever.

It's a moot point, people, not a mute one . . . with the possible exception of someone making said moot point who is, indeed, mute. My supervisor says this ALL THE GODDAMN TIME AND IT MAKES ME GO BATSHIT.

Please match the case of the pronoun to the case of the receiving noun. In other words, Sam and Dean put their souls in jeopardy, not their soul. Unless you are writing a fic in which they do indeed share one soul, instead of each having his own soul-- in which case I sincerely hope you have already taken the trouble to clearly express this concept to the reader.

For the love of GOD, an ordinance is a law. Ordnance is, in its broadest definition, weaponry. If you are writing SG, SGA, SPN, or any fandom in which the military or militia figures prominently and professionally, this is an especially heinous error.

I get it, I do. TYPOS HAPPEN, even to a grammar Nazi such as myself. That's why I ask lucifrix to read over just about everything I write. Sometimes, authors deliberately use awkward or incorrect grammar constructions in order to make a point. But errors like the above list proliferate like . . . like, I dunno, a giant proliferating thing, and every time an author fails to correct a mistake, further down the line is a reader who comes to believe that the error is actually correct, because of how often the person has already seen it.

Please, people, don't let yourself get to the level of Laurell Hamilton, whose wildly popular novels are RIDDLED with the errors I've just listed, and more besides. Nip it in the bud right now, and find yourself a grammar Nazi of your very own. The world will thank you.

Or at least, I will.

ETA: Hey, wow, look at that . . . I was wrong about the "just desserts" issue. It is, actually, spelled "deserts", from the verb "to deserve"; however, it's pronounced like "desserts", a noun used to describe the sweets course after a main meal.

I'm still upset about everything else, though. :)

A little disappointed am I in Leverage 1:8, "The Mile High Job". It gave me a sense that the characters were out of their element, and because of that, I felt the episode lacked cohesion. Also, what was the point with the Genogrow security specialist being on board the plane? Why was he earmarked for liquidation? I get the accountant chick . . . that makes sense. I think I'm missing something and I need to re-watch the ep.

Nate and Sophie are becoming a bit predictable, though. I keep shouting at the screen, "Would you just *fuck* already!"

Of course, I loved Spencer as an air marshal. *snerk*

Message to Christian Kane: No, the fucking idiotic soul patch does NOT make you look badass; it makes you look STUPID. Shave, for God's sake. Also, a long blunt haircut is no one's friend, especially yours. Again with the stupid. CUT YOUR GODDAMN HAIR.

I want to write an SPN / Leverage crossover wherein Spencer tangles with the Winchester brothers over an artifact. I am trying VERY HARD not to start it until I finish something else in my WiPs folder.

Last night I watched Criminal Minds for the first time in eons and enjoyed it immensely. Though I didn't know Mandy Patinkin had left the show and I kept saying, "What is Joe Montegna *doing* here?"

I was rooting for the family of serial killers to escape, but the ending was pretty cool anyway. That other kid, at the very end, though, was FUCKING CREEPY-LOOKING, what with the bug eyes and all.

Anybody else notice that the second girl they swiped was played by the girl who played child-Lilith in SPN "No Rest For The Wicked" and "Yellow Fever"? It must have been SPN-alumni night, because Madison showed up on CSI: NY, also. And I spotted someone else on yet another show, but now I can't remember who it was or what role he played.

I rewatched SPN "Heaven and Hell" and was struck all over again by how silly the sex seemed. Dean has had more chemistry with a CHEESEBURGER than he did with Anna . . . though I do not object whatsoever to the gratuitous shirtlessness. I've always had a thing for shoulders and arms and hands on a guy, and now I can add "Jensen Ackles' naked back" to the list of THINGS THAT TURN ME ON INSTANTLY. Music choice for seduction, though? SERIOUSLY LAME.

I saw some of the stills from My Bloody Valentine recently, and I'm surprised to say that I think Jensen might be working out a bit too much. He's starting to look kind of . . . uneven. You know, out-of-proportion. Awesome under clothes, but a little weird out of them.

Still, the pretty kind of makes up for it.

And I also saw an episode of Bones, which I ( surprisingly ) enjoyed. I'd watched the pilot when it premiered, been vastly disappointed, and never bothered with it again. But this episode was funny and snarky and quite entertaining! Amanda has the whole series on DVD, so I might borrow it from her and get caught up.

Just what I need, another show to follow. GODDAMMIT.

My supervisor just informed me that the latest issue of TV Guide says that this is the final season for Prison Break. This is most disappointing! Still, TV Guide has been known to be wrong, and I can certainly understand that the writers may have milked the concept for all it's worth.

I will miss my Monday-night eye candy, though. *sighs*

Seems like that's it for now! I'm sure I'll think of more to say, as soon as I hit POST.

Seen all around the flist, gakked most recently from dolimir_k.

All my crap is probably tagged under "fic".

Ask me a question about one of my stories. It can be absolutely anything in ANY fic and I will tell you the honest-to-God answer. Don’t hold back. Whatever you ask, I will try my best to answer.

With the caveat, of course, that the story may not yet have provided me with the information you seek!

But, OMG, I want to see the results of this challenge!

Gakked from seperis.

From devin_chain, a challenge:

I wish for a multi-fandom Tale of Two Cities/Scarlet Pimpernel Fic, Art, Vid, etc. Fest. Any rating. Any fandom. Slash, het, gen...whatever. First time, friendship, romance, h/c, darkfic, humor, etc. Writers pick either of the two works or blend elements of both. They go short as drabbles or long as novels -- series, even. I dream of vids, wallpapers, banners, covers, icons which bring your worlds alive.

Transfer the French Revolution to the Pegasus Galaxy, to Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital, to Hogwarts, to the Impala, to Metropolis, to Los Angeles before the Terminators, to Cardiff, to the Tardis, to Bandom, to your favorite wealthy RPS boys' concerts or trailers or hotels or mansions....

Class warfare. Caste systems. Mistaken identity.Masks. Cross-dressing. Doppelgangers. Doublecrosses. Decadant aristocratic gatherings. Beautiful clothes dragged through streets running with blood. Threat of the guillotine. Knitting. Playing the fop to disappoint those your character loves, and then secretly leading heroic missions. Your hero sacrificing her/his life - or something precious if you loathe deathfic - when no one expects that sort of act from her/him. Offering comfort to another while on the way to execution or loss. Belief a spouse works for the enemy and finding proof s/he does. An unhappy marriage which finds its happy resolution. Whatever other permutation you want.

If you're interested in such an event, copy and paste the above into your LJ, IJ, JF, GJ, etc. Post what you write/draw/edit where/when you want, but please leave a link in my LJ if you're so inclined.

Even if you don't want to participate, please consider passing it on. Add to the suggestions any way you wish.

Hey, algernon_mouse! Wanna tig? I've got this whole bunny thing happening all of the sudden. Dunno why.

Come play with meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

You know, before the mania wears off. ;)

I wrote a couple of paragraphs already, and I have background for the characters. You know, if you wanna play.

I'll be over here, champing impatiently at my bit.

Hey, anybody have a few caps of the guns that are shown in the final scenes of Supernatural's Season 2 finale, All Hell Breaks Loose? I'm thinking about the scene in the graveyard in front of the big tomb that is the entrance to hell. Specifically, I'm looking for caps of Sam's weapon, both before he drops it at Jake's command, and after he uses it to shoot Jake.

Anybody? Bueller?